Page 735 - Week 03 - Wednesday, 29 March 2006
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of wellbeing, and a lot more health problems which down the track might lead to maybe $10 million, $20 million, $30 million or $40 million more having to be spent in that area. It does not make good financial sense either. I think this motion is worthy of support. I think that it would not hurt the government to say that it will keep sport and recreation in one department and not spread it across a number of departments.
MR MULCAHY (Molonglo) (11.03): I am pleased to speak in support of Mr Stefaniak’s motion. I want to relate this matter particularly to our health budget and health issues. I have in mind the matter of the statistics related to overweight and obesity levels in Australia. Published data presented in the Australian government report entitled Building a healthy, active lifestyle notes that around nine million Australians over the age of 18 were estimated to be overweight or obese in 2001 and that a further 1.5 million people under the age of 18 are considered overweight or obese. These figures are astonishing and alarming. Obesity leads to a variety of health problems which in turn place a burden on our already strained health system.
Being overweight or obese makes health problems like heart disease, cancer, diabetes, dementia, arthritis and even kidney disease much more common and much more serious. This, of course, leads to a significant cost to our health system. The latest estimates in the report entitled Healthy weight 2008: Australia’s future suggest that the true cost of obesity may now be as high as $1.3 billion per year and rising fast. Whether or not one wants to debate figures and say that they are higher or more conservative, I do not think any reasonable person would doubt the fact that the cost of poor health is substantial in Australia. I think most people would recognise that a vibrant sports and activity program must be of general benefit to our community as we face the increased difficulty of meeting health costs.
There are other statistics that take the figure even higher. The indirect costs caused by people being overweight and obese, which include things like lost work productivity, absenteeism and unemployment, have been estimated to reach as high as $9 billion dollars a year. Clearly action is required to combat the problem of overweight and obesity in Australia. I would suggest that, based on medical research and probably an element of commonsense, a lack of physical activity is a significant contributing factor to people becoming overweight or obese. Being overweight or obese is generally caused by an energy imbalance where intake exceeds expenditure over a consistent period of time.
Good nutrition habits and sustained physical activity therefore play an important role in the prevention of weight gain. It is for that reason that the opposition is focusing attention on the matter of sport and recreation in the ACT community, as addressed in Mr Stefaniak’s motion. He makes the very valid point that the cost to the territory’s budget is relatively small in the big scheme of things, but it is an important adjunct to the territory’s attempts to ensure that we have a healthier community and that we have programs and activities in place that reduce the prospect of people needing to receive medical treatment. Nothing is ever absolute but clearly these programs are important for a host of reasons, especially if we can influence the habits of young people. There are social considerations that make participation in sport valuable, but the focus of my remarks today is primarily the health benefits of these programs.
Those of us who have children probably try to encourage participation in sports. Fortunately, each of our four children have been active in sport and I think it has served
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